Fraudulent claims of college degrees, a non-existent real estate portfolio and confusion over whether he's Jewish - or merely "Jew-ish" - are just some of the controversies New York Republican congressman-elect George Santos is facing on the day he's due to be sworn in.
Before triumphing his race within the November midterm election, the 34-year-vintage billed himself as "the whole embodiment of the American dream": An brazenly gay baby of Brazilian immigrants who rose to the top echelons of Wall Street earlier than getting into the arena of politics.
His victory lap, but, has been short-lived.
Mr Santos's narrative of his existence has fallen into tatters, with the embattled quickly-to-be representative admitting that massive quantities of it were absolutely made up.
He now faces calls to renounce amid federal and nearby investigations, and as new allegations of lies emerge on a almost daily basis as he is because of begin his responsibilities on Capitol Hill.
Here's what we recognize to date.
Who is George Santos?
According to a biography posted online via his marketing campaign - which has due to the fact that been rewritten - Mr Santos is a primary-technology American born inside the New York City borough of Queens. His grandparents, the website referred to, "fled Jewish persecution in Ukraine, settled in Belgium, and once more fled persecution in the course of WWII" before settling in Brazil. His Brazilian-born mother and father finally immigrated to the United States "looking for the American dream".
Mr Santos also claimed to were knowledgeable at Baruch-university in New York City earlier than becoming a "pro Wall Street financier and investor" with enjoy running at prestigious companies including Goldman Sachs and Citigroup.
Additionally, Mr Santos also claimed that he owned thirteen properties - which "he'd worked difficult for" - and that his mother turned into "in her workplace inside the south tower" of the World Trade Center on 11 September. As currently as October, his campaign's internet site claimed that she survived the assault, best to die several years later.
A relative newcomer to US politics, Mr Santos became lauded because the first openly gay Republican to win a seat in the House of Representatives as a non-incumbent with his victory this November.
What did Santos allegedly lie about?
On 19 December, the New York Times published a tale calling into question massive portions of his CV, which include his training and his paintings enjoy.
Other news stores have seeing that observed no proof that his grandparents fled anti-Semitism in Europe or that he is Jewish, no matter in advance boasts of being a "proud American Jew".
Since the initial reviews, Mr Santos has admitted that he adorned his historical past. He by no means graduated from any college or worked for Goldman Sachs and Citigroup. Rather than proudly owning belongings across New York, he lives with his sister in Long Island.
It changed into additionally found out his mom died in 2016.
He additionally stated that he misrepresented his religion, telling the New York Post that he's Catholic and that he said he turned into "Jew-ish" after mastering that his maternal family had a Jewish background.
"My sins right here are embellishing my resume," Mr Santos advised the Post. "I'm sorry."
What are the latest claims?
The allegations in opposition to him, but, continue to grow.
In the latest twist, authorities in Brazil have showed that they plan to revive fraud prices towards Mr Santos related to a 2008 stolen chequebook. According to court information, Mr Santos spent approximately $seven-hundred using a fake call and stolen cheques in the metropolis of Niterói, close to Rio de Janeiro. The case have been suspended due to the fact Brazilian authorities have been unable to locate him.
In a announcement despatched to the BBC's US accomplice CBS, the Brazilian prosecutor charged with the case said that Mr Santos' swearing-in as a Congressman approach that "he has a sure address where he can be summoned" and that the case can be persisted.
Separately, on 29 December, the New York Times stated that Mr Santos' marketing campaign paid $eleven,000 to a cleaning company for "apartment condominium for team of workers", similarly to a slew of disbursements pegged at $199.99 - exactly one cent beneath the brink wherein receipts are required with the aid of federal regulation. The campaign costs also include $40,000 for air journey, a discern the newspaper mentioned "resembles the marketing campaign filings of celebration leaders in Congress, rather than a newly elected congressman who is still introducing himself to nearby voters."
While it's far unclear if any legal guidelines had been broken, federal and neighborhood officers have vowed to check out his budget. The Nassau County district legal professional, for instance, stated it is analyzing "numerous fabrications and inconsistencies" together with his marketing campaign.
"No one is above the regulation, and if a crime changed into committed on this county, we are able to prosecute it," district attorney Anne Donnelly stated.
Will Santos still take office?
Despite mounting complaint, Mr Santos has to this point resisted calls to step down, and prominent Republicans have remained in large part mute. He now appears set to be sworn in as a representative on three January.
His defiance and the birthday celebration's silence have not quieted his critics - from each aspects of the US political divide.
"He deceived us and misrepresented his heritage," Republican Jewish Coalition CEO Matt Brooks stated. "In public remarks and to us individually he previously claimed to be Jewish. He has started his tenure in Congress on a very incorrect be aware."
In a traumatic trade broadcast live on Fox News in advance this week, former consultant Tulsi Gabbard - who in October left the Democratic Party - harshly condemned Mr Santos for "blatant lies".
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"If I had been one of these in New York's 3rd District proper now, now that the election is over, and I'm locating out all of those lies which you've informed, now not just one little lie or one little embellishment — these are blatant lies — my query is, do you haven't any disgrace?" she asked.
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